What's In Store For The Pandemic's Third Year?

Plus: Life on the road during a pandemic

It was just over two years ago, March 11, 2020, that the World Health Organization declared the official start of the Covid-19 pandemic. The reality of that began to sink home just a few days later as governments and businesses began responding to it with canceled sports seasons, stores closing their doors. Two years later, the pandemic isn’t over yet—but as case counts have gone markedly down from the peak of the omicron surge, how it impacts our lives is changing. 

It’s to mark this occasion that some of the top reporters at Forbes have taken a look at how the Covid pandemic has transformed the world of business over the past two years—and how it will continue to change things in the years to come. 

Business During Covid-19

As omicron swept America this winter, makers of at-home Covid tests faced a unique business dilemma: Seemingly overnight, demand for their products became infinite, with massive government contracts up for grabs. But it was almost equally certain that demand for the tests would vanish—at least temporarily—by the time spring arrived. Here’s how eight major test manufacturers are coping. 

A combination of the pandemic and the rise of Zoom has transformed how and why people hit the road for work. Nearly half of frequent business travelers don’t plan to resume their old habits. So now the biggest buzzwords in corporate travel are “bleisure” and “return to base.” Here’s how the world of business travel has been fundamentally transformed. 

Counterintuitively, the pandemic put a lot of financial pressure on hospitals and healthcare systems. Many relied on federal cash to keep the doors open, and even that didn’t stop 35 hospitals from closing in the past two years. Meanwhile, HCA, America’s largest healthcare system, thrived—even after it gave back $6 billion in federal funds. Here’s how its conservative strategy reaped (literal) dividends.

Many people’s stress was alleviated by an old standby: comfort food. From macaroni and cheese to lasagna to Rice Krispie treats, nostalgia ruled America’s tastebuds. But that also proved to be a wild detour for the food startup industry, which has been trying to innovate the way Americans fill their bellies. Here’s what the comfort boom means for the future of food.